Sanchez, Level Highlight Giants' Latest International Class

Power hitting catcher and switch hitting infielder are among the new kids

The 2023 season feels like it could be remembered as an epochal one for the international development arm of the Giants’ organization. Marco Luciano and Luis Matos, whose signings in 2018 (along with that of Jairo Pomares) seemed to trumpet a new, more aggressive approach in the international market after several years in the penalty box (or penalty Fox, as it were), made their big league debuts and put themselves in position to take on pivotal roles in the upcoming seasons. Camilo Doval became a first time All Star. And down on the farm, major developmental breakthroughs from Rayner Arias, Victor Bericoto, Diego Velasquez and others provided a lot of excitement for the system this year.

As 2024 is ushered in, a new group of teenagers who hope one day to be joining the ranks of the above signed their names on their first professional contracts, led by two Venezuelans, catcher Yoendry Sanchez and shortstop Jhonny Level. Reached by phone last night, Senior International Scouting Director, Joe Salermo, was excited with a group that included three catchers, six middle infielders, and four potential center fielders. “We always try to get premium guys up the middle,” Salermo said.

In the past few years, the Giants have employed a flexible strategy on the international market, moving back and forth between classes that focused on a small group of higher dollar signings, and classes that spread the wealth around more equally. “We have a board, just like with the draft,” Salermo said. “We rank all of these guys, and when we start trying to sign the players [at the top of our board] and they commit to other teams, we just move on to the next one.”

The Giants have gotten good results and strong classes from both strategies, with both top dollar signings like Luciano and Arias, or small five-figure deals as with Bericoto or All Star pitcher Luis Castillo returning value. As it stands today, there are 15 international signees on this year’s There R Giants’ Top 50, which is pretty good representation for the international department, given their challenge of identifying talent at a much younger age and experience level.